Interview Questions by Skill Flashcards
Identify Skill they are asking and what actions should be highlighted
Give me an example of what have you done to understand the customer’s point of view about a problem.
Skill: Entrepreneurship.
Situation: One of my core responsibilities is monitoring how the market is evolving and educate providers of how our product can help patients. This summer I noticed in our tracker that the perioperative market share hit a plateau.
Task: To understand the situation better and get a clearer picture of our customers’ perspectives, I initiated a multi-step process.
Action: 1.) Analyzed MR- Looked at themes in patient attributes for ppl not getting periop treatment. Noticed that is was Stage II patients 2.) Gathered insights- Ran MR and spoke to KOL’s on why this might be occurring by doing primary market research 3.) Analysis and intergrated insights to 3 main reasons 1.) Oncs not seeing patient prior to surgery 2.) Misunderstanding of Guidelines 3.) Overtreatment
Result: I created a strategy to address these reason and worked with the team to create multiple resources/educate the field during 1S. We saw a 23% bump in our last ATU wave for Stage II patients getting periop treatment.
Describe how you have used measurement or feedback systems to track how well you have met the needs of a customer, client, or stakeholder group.
Skill: Entrepreneurship.
Situation: One of my core responsibilities is monitoring how the market is evolving and educate providers of how our product can help patients. This summer I noticed in our tracker that the perioperative market share hit a plateau.
Task: To understand the situation better and get a clearer picture of our customers’ perspectives, I initiated a multi-step process.
Action: 1.) Analyzed MR- Looked at themes in patient attributes for ppl not getting periop treatment. Noticed that is was Stage II patients 2.) Gathered insights- Ran MR and spoke to KOL’s on why this might be occurring by doing primary market research 3.) Analysis and intergrated insights to 3 main reasons 1.) Oncs not seeing patient prior to surgery 2.) Misunderstanding of Guidelines 3.) Overtreatment
Result: I created a strategy to address these reason and worked with the team to create multiple resources/educate the field during 1S. We saw a 23% bump in our last ATU wave for Stage II patients getting periop treatment.
Tell me about a system or process that you created to help improve customer satisfaction. Describe the system or process in detail and share how it improved customer satisfaction.
Skill: Entrepreneurship.
Situation: One of my core responsibilities as an HCP market is keeping my finger on the pulse of customer and understanding barriers to using Key. In order to do that, we have multiple tools, one such tool is our Awareness and Utilization Tracker (ATU for short). I noticed in after our launch of XYZ that this tracker was not tracking all the different metrics we needed to understand our customer holistically.
Task: I wanted to make sure that our next wave we improved the system to capture customer satisfaction so we can better track it and create resources to improve it.
Action: Some of the actions I took to improve the tracker was: 1.) Gap Analysis- Conducted an inventory of what where the top 10 things we had to know about the customer and which one were we capturing. Discovered there were about 4 critical areas which we didn’t probe on. 2.) Brainstorming Session with cross functional partners to make sure that work they were doing or needed to monitor was being captured and 3.) Implementation: Received leadership buy in and led the efforts to implement these changes. I also created a process to review ATU ever time we launched a wave vs just continuing.
Results: By updating the system, it helped the team understand what gaps we had and monitor our progress, this resulted in improving customer satisfaction.
Tell me about one procedure you’ve put in place to monitor the quality of customer focus within your work group.
Skill: Entrepreneurship.
Situation: One of my core responsibilities as an HCP market is keeping my finger on the pulse of customer and understanding barriers to using KEYTRUDA. In order to do that, we have multiple tools, one such tool is our Awareness and Utilization Tracker (ATU for short). I noticed in after our launch of XYZ that this tracker was not tracking all the different metrics we needed to understand our customer holistically.
Task: I wanted to make sure that our next wave we improved the system to capture customer satisfaction so we can better track it and create resources to improve it.
Action: Some of the actions I took to improve the tracker was: 1.) Gap Analysis- Conducted an inventory of what where the top 10 things we had to know about the customer and which one were we capturing. Discovered there were about 4 critical areas which we didn’t probe on. 2.) Brainstorming Session with cross functional partners to make sure that work they were doing or needed to monitor was being captured and 3.) Implementation: Received leadership buy in and led the efforts to implement these changes. I also created a process to review ATU ever time we launched a wave vs just continuing.
Results: By updating the system, it helped the team understand what gaps we had and monitor our progress, this resulted in improving customer satisfaction.
Teams can lose sight of customer needs over time. Describe a time when your team got off track and lost sight of customer needs. How did you help the team get back on track?
Skill: Entrepreneurship.
Situation: During the launch of XYZ, the asset development team, ADT, was focused on creating awareness of the indication, but post 5 months, I noticed an alarming trend that we were still focused on awareness instead of our differentiation of OS.
Task: Recognizing the importance of aligning our promotional strategies with customer needs, I decided to take a proactive approach to understand the root of this misalignment.
Action: There are a few actions I took. First I wanted to make sure I understood why we were focused on the awareness vs creating resources on awareness. During these discussions, I shared market research insights that highlighted why healthcare professionals were choosing competitive treatments, such as XYZ and Periop. I also shared awareness data which showed that while we still had work todo, awareness was getting saturated but there was low awareness of our indication being the only one with OS. To address this, we shifted gears and refocused our digital promotions to place greater emphasis on our OS advantage, developing over 25 new tactics designed specifically to enhance awareness of this critical differentiator.
Result: As a result, not only did we regain alignment with customer needs, but we also saw a noticeable increase in engagement and awareness from our target audience. This experience reinforced the importance of continually checking in with customer perspectives and pivoting when needed.
Tell me about a time when you were faced with conflicting priorities.
Skill: Strategic Planning
Situation: A time I had conflicting priorities was during the launch of XYZ, during launch planning it was identified that the team could not complete everything in 2024.
Task: I was tasked with understand one the opportunity spaces, Lung Cancer Screening and presenting to leadership if this should be proritized or not verse other opportunities.
Action: I broke this large 2 month project into 3 digestible pieces for the core team I was leading. 1.) Understanding current market landscape 2.) Feasibility 3.) Evaluating the impact of increasing screening vs other opportunities.
Result: Long story short, after answering these question, I presented to leadership that feasibility was low due to challenges and impact was lower then other opportunities. We deprioritized this from a regional focus, this strategy paid off as by focusing on high impact/feasibility opportunity, we exceed our forecast assumptions.
We’ve all been in situations in which we couldn’t complete everything we needed to on time. Tell me about a time when this happened to you.
Skill: Strategic Planning
Situation: A great example of a time I was not able to complete everything, occurred shortly after the launch of XYZ. We had just finalized getting into our CDA our positioning message around first and only IO with OS, and it came to me that within 2 weeks there was risk of XYZ competitor hitting OS.
Task: I was tasked with if this occurred how would be pivot.
Action: 2 weeks was not enough time to create a strategy with robust message that been tested. So my goal came to what message do we put and how do we not go dark. The key actions I took around that was 1.) Align team on Market Event and goal 2.) Identify all resources which were at risk and prioritize which resources needed to be changed. 3.) I believe in collaborative decision making so asked the team to brainstorm replacement messages 4.) I am data driven so I went back to see what we tested before.
Result: Luckily XYZ did not hit OS, but the team was prepared with a plan that would prevent us from going dark. This experience taught be while you can’t prepare for everything, we had a gap in events that could effect us. So now I partner with CI to make sure that we look at all events that are occurring for the year and review monthly if changes are expected.
We are often too busy to plan future activities. Tell me about a time when you were so busy you reacted to situations rather than planned for them. How did you overcome the situation?
Skill: Strategic Planning
Situation: I am a person who doesn’t like suprises. I am someone who like to make sure we have a map of all major events. A situation did arise in 2023 when XYZCM had an interim analysis which we were not aware was going to happen until a few weeks out, which was flagged they could hit OS.
Task: I was tasked with if CM-816 hit OS, how would our position change as we were promoting that we were the only trail to hit this endpoint.
Action: The quick actions I took:
1.) Brought core team up to speed and communicated short deadline
2.) Set expectation that we need a quick fix but needed a validated plan for the long run.
3.) Brainstormed around what could we do quickly to not go dark but also created a robust timeline get answer properly.
Result: Luckily XYZCM didn’t hit OS and if it did we were able to get a quick solution that was PRT approvable as a temporary fix. It made me realize we had gaps in our major event calendar. Now I am big stickler on making sure I and the whole team is up to speed on what coming.
Tell me about a time when you were responsible for creating a plan for a project you were managing. Describe how you created the plan and how you decided which resources (individuals, processes, departments and/or tools) to leverage.
Skill: Strategic Planning
Situation: A major project I was responsible for creating a plan for was during the launch of KNXYZ
Task: I was tasked with understanding if we should prioritize lung screening over other priorities.
Action: The action I took to plan was:
1.) Deep understanding of scope and Alignment: Make sure I gathered from key stakeholders the objectives, time, budget, and final deliverable.
2.) Project Plan: Worked to create a weekly sprint plan to get us to goal by 2 month and keep team moviated by breaking into smaller compents.
3.) Create diverse team based on who we would need: Making sure I had a diverse core team of experts needed to meet objective
4.) Managment of Resources: To manage people time and since the project had different phases, we broke the diverse team into either core or extended. This way when we got to policy questions, we could bring them in and they didn’t need to be in the whole sausage making.
Result: As a result, we successfully reported the project on time, and our analysis revealed that the hurdles lung cancer screening had was not something Merck can solve on it’s own. It allowed the team to focus on other opportunity spaces which had higher impact.
What objectives were you expected to meet this year? What steps did you take to make sure you were making progress on all of them?
Skill: Strategic Planning
Situation: This year I had one major objective: Launch KN-671 successfully. In order to complete that, there were many smaller sub-objectives.
Action: I took a few steps to make sure I was successful:
1.) I created clear objective based on leadership goals
2.) Presented to manager for accountability and awareness
3.) Created a plan and broke it into quarterly objectives so I can track and monitor
4.) Monitored plan/how we were tracking via market research to make sure we were making progress on the goal and if not, brainstormed around what we could pivot.
Result: As a result, I was able to successfully meet my major major objective of launching KN-671 successfully by growing market share and increasing perioperative use.
Describe steps you took to identify or understand a complicated problem you have had to deal with on your job.
Skill: Decision Making
Situation: I faced a complicated decision regarding which components of our new interim data to promote in our print Core Detail Aid. We were divided on whether to include the OS subgroup data, leading to differing opinions within the team.
Task: My primary responsibility was to make a go/no-go decision about including this subgroup data in the leave-behind print material, ensuring that we aligned with our project deadlines and stakeholder expectations.
Action: To address this, I employed a two-pronged approach:
Collaborative Decision Making: I organized a brainstorming session to gather insights from the team. I actively listened and asked probing questions to fully understand the varied perspectives. This open dialogue allowed us to explore the implications of including versus excluding the subgroup data.
Data-Driven Decision: I also analyzed data from previous market research to inform our direction. By comparing the performance and feedback on past materials, I was able to provide a factual basis for our decision-making process.
Result: Ultimately, after weighing the pros and cons, we decided to exclude the OS subgroup analysis from the Core Detail Aid. This decision enabled us to finalize the detail aid on time and meet our deadlines. Subsequent research confirmed our choice was correct; the market response was positive, validating our focus on clarity and timeliness rather than complexity.
Describe a situation in which you had to decide whether to accept or reject a recommendation. What did you decide, and why?
Skill: Decision Making
Situation: I faced a complicated decision regarding which components of our new interim data to promote in our print Core Detail Aid. We were divided on whether to include the OS subgroup data, leading to differing opinions within the team.
Task: My primary responsibility was to make a go/no-go decision about including this subgroup data in the leave-behind print material, ensuring that we aligned with our project deadlines and stakeholder expectations.
Action: To address this, I employed a two-pronged approach:
Collaborative Decision Making: I organized a brainstorming session to gather insights from the team. I actively listened and asked probing questions to fully understand the varied perspectives. This open dialogue allowed us to explore the implications of including versus excluding the subgroup data.
Data-Driven Decision: I also analyzed data from previous market research to inform our direction. By comparing the performance and feedback on past materials, I was able to provide a factual basis for our decision-making process.
Result: Ultimately, after weighing the pros and cons, we decided to exclude the OS subgroup analysis from the Core Detail Aid. This decision enabled us to finalize the detail aid on time and meet our deadlines. Subsequent research confirmed our choice was correct; the market response was positive, validating our focus on clarity and timeliness rather than complexity.
Give me an example of a good decision you made recently. What, if any, alternatives did you consider? Why did you make the decision that you did?
Skill: Decision Making
Situation: I faced a complicated decision regarding which components of our new interim data to promote in our print Core Detail Aid. We were divided on whether to include the OS subgroup data, leading to differing opinions within the team.
Task: My primary responsibility was to make a go/no-go decision about including this subgroup data in the leave-behind print material, ensuring that we aligned with our project deadlines and stakeholder expectations.
Action: To address this, I employed a two-pronged approach:
Collaborative Decision Making: I organized a brainstorming session to gather insights from the team. I actively listened and asked probing questions to fully understand the varied perspectives. This open dialogue allowed us to explore the implications of including versus excluding the subgroup data.
Data-Driven Decision: I also analyzed data from previous market research to inform our direction. By comparing the performance and feedback on past materials, I was able to provide a factual basis for our decision-making process.
Result: Ultimately, after weighing the pros and cons, we decided to exclude the OS subgroup analysis from the Core Detail Aid. This decision enabled us to finalize the detail aid on time and meet our deadlines. Subsequent research confirmed our choice was correct; the market response was positive, validating our focus on clarity and timeliness rather than complexity.
Describe a time when you weighed the pros and cons of a situation and decided not to take action, even though you were under pressure to do so.
Skill: Decision Making
Situation: Very early in my career working on launching a new G9 indicaiton. We were having challenges with PRT on getting CDA ready in time for our 1S meeting.
Task: I was being pressured to remove the unmet need section of detail aid to meet the 1S deadline but was worried that section was critical for our customer to understand why they should use our product.
Action: To address this, I employed a two-pronged approach to weight the pros and cons. Pro’s was having a Collaborative decision making: I gathered my team to evaluate the situation. We created a list of pros and cons regarding the decision to either proceed with the launch as scheduled and removing the portion we were having difficulty with or delay it to address the issue. Data Driven: What did MR tell us about the section that was being removed.
Result: We ultimately decided we needed to keep in the material. We worked collaborative with PRT so we could still train the field on sections PRT were okay with. We were able to get detail aid to reps 2 weeks after 1S meeting with section reworked and it was the number #1 used section at launch.
We’ve all tried to solve a problem on our own only to discover that others needed to be involved in the solution. Give me an example of a time when you took full responsibility for solving a problem but later found out that you needed to include others in the process.
Skill: Decision Making
Situation: Very early in my career working on launching a new G9 indication. We were having challenges with PRT on getting CDA ready in time for our 1S meeting.
Task: I was trying to solve how we can get more time to work on unmet need section and still meet 1S deadline.
Action: At first I took full responsibility for solving this problem but after trying to figure out a solution for a few days, I realized that I needed other input. I did 2 key actions:
1.) Asked Promotion Colleges if they every had challenges/manager in weekly team session- None of my colleges had experience but my manager did. He suggested we set up a meeting with PRT and Marketing point to discuss solutions
2.) Brainstorming Session with PRT members during office hours
Result: By working with others, We were able to find a solution to present what we could at the 1S meeting but also include extra time needed to get unmet need section into the detail aid. After launch the number one utilized page in detail aid was unmet need and i received from reps great feedback on it inclusion.
Describe a situation in which you proactively established or improved a relationship to achieve a specific result / outcome/ goal.
Skill: Networking and Partnerships
Situation: One of the key groups that an HCP marketer must collaborate with is the Promotional Review Team (PRT). Establishing a trusting working relationship with this team is crucial for our success.
Task: At the beginning of last year, we underwent a significant change when a new legal representative joined our team. I recognized the importance of building a strong relationship with him from the outset.
Action: Here’s how I approached it:
1.) Introduction and Relationship Building: I introduced myself and scheduled a one-on-one meeting to foster a personal connection. This allowed us to get to know each other better and set a foundation for open dialogue.
2.) Orientation and Collaboration: During our meeting, I took the opportunity to bring him up to speed on our team’s initiatives. I shared our marketing vision and goals, as well as the current strategies we were implementing. This helped him understand the context of our work and how the legal department could support our objectives.
3.) Open Communication: Throughout our interactions, I made it a priority to maintain open lines of communication.
Result: By establishing a relationship early with legal, and having a working open working relationship, we had more productive PRTs. Just recently when we were trying to highlight a differentiator and got resistance from PRT Board, Legal understood and we were able to find a solution that worked for all.
What have you done to promote collaboration and cooperation in a way that supported the shared goals of the group or team?
Skill: Networking and Partnerships
Situation: One of the key groups that an HCP marketer must collaborate with is the Promotional Review Team (PRT). Establishing a trusting working relationship with this team is crucial for our success.
Task: In previous role, PRT identified a significant inconsistency in how job owners were interpreting and applying guidelines. They reached out to me for assistance in addressing this issue.
Action: The action I took to promote collaboration was:
1.) Active listening and showing genuine interesting in helping to solve the issue
2.) Draw on others previous experiences of others
3.) Create Brand Guidelines with Agency had workshop with core team to get other issues
4.) Uploaded to teams for everyone to add and update
Result: This resulted in more PRT being freed up as PRT didn’t have to repeat the guidance, it also reduce the number of R&R we had received by 1/2.
Tell me about a time when someone asked to brainstorm an idea with you.
Skill: Networking and Partnerships
Situation: One of the key groups that an HCP marketer must collaborate with is the Promotional Review Team (PRT). Establishing a trusting working relationship with this team is crucial for our success.
Task: In previous role, PRT identified a significant inconsistency in how job owners were interpreting and applying guidelines. They reached out to me to brainstorm what we could do.
Action: The action I took to promote collaboration was:
1.) Active listening and showing genuine interesting in helping to solve the issue
2.) Draw on others previous experiences of others
3.) Create Brand Guidelines with Agency had workshop with core team to get other issues
4.) Uploaded to teams for everyone to add and update
Result: This resulted in more PRT being freed up as PRT didn’t have to repeat the guidance, it also reduce the number of R&R we had received by 1/2.
Tell me about one of the toughest teams / groups that you’ve had to work with. What made it difficult?
Skill: Networking and Partnerships
Situation: One of the key groups that an HCP marketer must collaborate with is the Promotional Review Team (PRT). Establishing a trusting working relationship with this team is crucial for our success.
Task: PRT can be challenging/difficult at times as even though we have the same ultimate goal, PRT goal is to de-risk promotional statements
Action: To help foster a better relationship, Here’s how I approached it:
1.) Take PRT Prosepctive on why they are pushing back
2.) Collaboration: I shared our marketing vision and goals, as well as the current strategies we were implementing. This helped him understand the context of our work and how and why we are creating resource.
3.)Open Communication: Throughout our interactions, I made it a priority to maintain open lines of communication.
Result: By establishing a relationship we have a working open working relationship, we had more productive PRTs. Just recently when we were trying to highlight a differentiator and got resistance from PRT Board, Legal understood and we were able to find a solution that worked for all.
Interacting with others can be challenging at times. Tell me about the greatest difficulty you faced when trying to get along with peers, team members, or others at work. How did you handle the situation?
Skill: Networking and Partnerships
Situation: One of the key groups that an HCP marketer must collaborate with is the Promotional Review Team (PRT). Establishing a trusting working relationship with this team is crucial for our success.
Task: PRT can be challenging/difficult at times as even though we have the same ultimate goal, PRT goal is to de-risk promotional statements
Action: To help foster a better relationship, Here’s how I approached it:
1.) Take PRT Prosepctive on why they are pushing back
2.) Collaboration: I shared our marketing vision and goals, as well as the current strategies we were implementing. This helped him understand the context of our work and how and why we are creating resource.
3.)Open Communication: Throughout our interactions, I made it a priority to maintain open lines of communication.
Result: By establishing a relationship we have a working open working relationship, we had more productive PRTs. Just recently when we were trying to highlight a differentiator and got resistance from PRT Board, Legal understood and we were able to find a solution that worked for all.
Tell me about a time when you needed to get diverse people to communicate better with each other in order to be successful.
Skill: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Situation: During the launch of VAXNEUVANCE, our first Pediatric Pneumococcal vaccine, I was tasked with leading a diverse team. We had members from various backgrounds, which initially resulted in significant communication barriers that hindered our collaboration and ability to execute our launch plans effectively.
Task: My primary goal was to foster better communication among team members to ensure that everyone felt valued, included, and aligned with our objectives for the launch.
Action: To address these challenges, I implemented several strategic actions. First, I organized a kickoff team-building exercise where each member shared their background and role within the project. This helped to break down barriers and build rapport.
Next, I introduced Mural, a collaboration tool that we prepopulated with a grid to inventory our tasks and track progress visually. This tool was instrumental in keeping everyone aligned and engaged.
Additionally, I established bimonthly meetings that transitioned to weekly check-in sessions. These meetings provided a platform for feedback where team members could share updates and discuss challenges, creating a continuous communication loop.
Result: As a result of these initiatives, our team dynamics significantly improved. We met all project deadlines and successfully launched VAXNEUVANCE, with over 30 resources created in the first three months from various teams supporting the launch.
From time to time we all disregard the ideas of others that we should have considered more carefully. Tell me about a time when you initially disregarded someone’s idea, but then later considered it.
Skill: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Situation: When I worked on G9 , during profit planning the agency pitch a promotional idea of podcast series. At the time, I felt that idea was too ambitious and costly to pursue.
Action: After we began executing our campaigns, I noticed that our awareness had hit a plateau. A few months in, I received feedback from other team member that highlighted that more consumers were getting information from podcast. This prompted me to revisit the idea. I did 3 key actions: 1.) Reach out to agency to further elaborate on their vision. 2.) Looked internal if other teams have done anything in this space After doing my due diligence, found out we had partnership to do consumer ads with Spotify. Created a pilot program to test this as a channel.
Result: Pilot campaign exceeded our expectations with awareness increasing among our target demographic by additional 10%. This experience taught me the importance of keeping an open mind and valuing diverse perspectives within a team. I’ve since made it a priority to create an environment where all ideas are considered. In addition to remove personal bias, I have implemented a round robin where i can see how other are feeling about the idea.
Describe a time when you disagreed with a coworker or peer’s suggestion. How did you handle the situation?
Skill: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Situation: When I worked on G9 , during profit planning the agency pitch a promotional idea of podcast series. At the time, I felt that idea was too ambitious and costly to pursue.
Action: After we began executing our campaigns, I noticed that our awareness had hit a plateau. A few months in, I received feedback from other team member that highlighted that more consumers were getting information from podcast. This prompted me to revisit the idea. I did 3 key actions: 1.) Reach out to agency to further elaborate on their vision. 2.) Looked internal if other teams have done anything in this space After doing my due diligence, found out we had partnership to do consumer ads with Spotify. Created a pilot program to test this as a channel.
Result: Pilot campaign exceeded our expectations with awareness increasing among our target demographic by additional 10%. This experience taught me the importance of keeping an open mind and valuing diverse perspectives within a team. I’ve since made it a priority to create an environment where all ideas are considered. In addition to remove personal bias, I have implemented a round robin where i can see how other are feeling about the idea.
It’s common when working in a group on a project to have at least one quiet member. How have you encouraged all members to express their opinions?
Skill: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Situation: Throughout my career, I have had members who have varying communication styles.
Task: I have adopted several strategies to encourage participation from all members
Action: 1. Used Structured Formats: Round Robin Sharing where ppl are given time but equal opportunity or have used mural boards
2. Created a safe place: Encorage all ideas and state every opinion is valid. I make sure tone and other members are respectiveful.
3.) One in One Check ins: I find some individuals may feel more comfortable on 1:1 vs larger teams.
Result: By employing these strategies, I have seen firsthand how team dynamics improve, resulting in more creative solutions and a greater sense of ownership among all members.
Describe a time when you created a new solution for a reoccurring problem.
Skill: Innovation
Situation: In my previous role as the Scientific Strategy Lead for the Pneumococcal franchise, I was in charge of improving vaccination rates among among diabetic patients. The problem was after 2.5 years of traditional marketing, we were only able to increase vaccination rates by 5%.
Task: I was tasked with brainstorming ideas for how we could improve vaccination rates..
Action: There are a couple of action I took to come up with an idea.
1.) Identifying the Problem: What was the reason why vaccination rates were low? One issue that came up was vacciation was not priortized at HCP office/pharmacy’s.
2.) Market Research: Two MR we conducted to help think about what we can differently is customer journey mapping and consumer research to see if they would be open to vaccination in other places they frequently visited.
3.) Innovative Solutions: Based on MR insights, I proposed to the innovation group, taking a look at blood labs as an alterative vaccination site.
Result: The idea was presented to senior leadership and a cross functional team was actually put in place to explore. I was given a special assignment to see if I could co-led this team. We got pretty far with partnering with LabCorp but COVID occurred and unfortunately canceled.
Tell me about a time when you worked with others to develop new and creative ideas to solve a problem.
Skill: Innovation
Situation: In my previous role as the Scientific Strategy Lead for the Pneumococcal franchise, I was in charge of improving vaccination rates among among diabetic patients. The problem was after 2.5 years of traditional marketing, we were only able to increase vaccination rates by 5%.
Task: I was tasked with brainstorming ideas for how we could improve vaccination rates..
Action: There are a couple of action I took to come up with an idea.
1.) Identifying the Problem: What was the reason why vaccination rates were low? One issue that came up was vacciation was not priortized at HCP office/pharmacy’s.
2.) Market Research: Two MR we conducted to help think about what we can differently is customer journey mapping and consumer research to see if they would be open to vaccination in other places they frequently visited.
3.) Innovative Solutions: Based on MR insights, I proposed to the innovation group, taking a look at blood labs as an alterative vaccination site.
Result: The idea was presented to senior leadership and a cross functional team was actually put in place to explore. I was given a special assignment to see if I could co-led this team. We got pretty far with partnering with LabCorp but COVID occurred and unfortunately canceled.
Can you tell me about a time when you challenged established procedures or processes?
Skill: Innovation
Situation: My role as the Scientific Strategy Lead for the Pneumococcal franchise, I was responsible for promoting a new recommendation from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). The typical process to develop and deliver a Key Opinion Leader (KOL) video to our customers took about 4 to 5 months.
Task: I realized that to expedite this process, we needed to involve the Digital Engagement Team (DET), even though Medical Education (Med-Ed) was not initially in scope for their resources. My goal was to get leadership approval for a pilot project.
Action: I took several steps to secure this approval:
1.) Identified the Problem: I collaborated with my manager to clearly define the bottleneck in our existing process and presented a proposed solution to engage DET, ensuring I had buy-in from the Project Owner and the DET team.
2.) Collaboration and Presentation: I partnered with the Medical Education Engagement Team and DET to create a compelling presentation for DET leadership. This deck outlined how the pilot would work and demonstrated its potential benefits.
Result: After presenting our findings and receiving constructive feedback, leadership approved the new process. By utilizing a concurrent approach—moving the video through the “coco time” instead of the traditional PRT—and having DET generate key drivers in parallel, we were able to launch the KOL video to market in just 3 months. This effort led to a remarkable 90% awareness of the change within 6 months.
Give an example of a time when you were working on a project and had difficulty getting cooperation from a group outside of your team that was vital to the completion of the project. How did you go about requesting the assistance?
Skill: Motivation and Inspiration
Situation: After the launch of of XYZ, I heard rumblings from the field and MR about patients not understanding why they needed additional tx after surgery
Task: I was tasked with getting a resource to help HCP have that discussion with patients. In order to achieve my goal, I had to partner with the consumer team who were hesitant to prioritized the project.
Action: The action I took was three fold.
1.) First understand hesitation to prioritize the issue, which in speaking and listening, they were burned before spending time creating something for the field that wasn’t well received.
2.) Second was to share the new information which was why it was important to priortize the project. I invited them to also speak to the field.
3.) Third was to offer to partner by being involved in promotions process and champion after creation
Result: By making sure I understand why they had that position, having them hear new information, showing them how this project fit in their goals and lastly recognition they were not only motivated for this project but other project I have kicked off they are more cooperative and amazing partners.
Describe different methods of communication you have used to keep others engaged in the conversation?
Skill: Motivation and Inspiration
To keep others engaged in a conversation, I utilize a various communication methods. Some of the methods are:
Action: 1.) Active Listening and Showing Geniune Intrested /Open Ended Questions.
2.) Body Luanguage and Non-Verbal Cues. Eye contact/open body lang.
3.) Adapting Communication Style to meet induvial or group
4.) Building Rapport and Trust
Result: By implementing these methods, I can foster engaging and meaningful conversations that leave a positive and lasting impact on others.
Tell me about a time when you gave a presentation and it went very well.
Skill: Motivation and Inspiration
Situation: One of my most successful presentations was during LROP to leadership and PDT
Task: The goal was to share with leadership the commercial view on upcoming competitor launches and threat level to our own pipeline
Some of the actions I took was
1.) Preparation and Content: I started by gathering all relevant data
2.) Collaborated with Cross Functional team to prepare deck
2.) Understanding the Audience: Knowing that the executive team values data-driven insights made sure to share approached analysis and MR insights
3.)Delivery Skills: On presentation day, I delivered my content with enthusiasm and clarity. I encouraged questions throughout the session and made sure to read the room.
Result: As a result, the presentation help PDT and Leadership understand the treat we had in both adult business against PCV20 with V114 and the need to accelerate the V116 program. As a direct result of the presentation, the move up V116 launch date by 2 years, which hopefully with CAPVAXIVE we been able to obtain leadership again.
